[luke warm]

Flem72, on 2012-October-30, 12:16, said:

He's astoundingly vague.

i for one don't equate "vague" with "unresponsive"

[Zelandakh]

This story is basically dead until after the election - Sandy has come at a good time for Obama. I suspect this is the final nail in Romney's coffin unless the administration seriously bodges the relief effort (sorry Luke).

[luke warm]

Zelandakh, on 2012-October-31, 04:24, said:

This story is basically dead until after the election - Sandy has come at a good time for Obama. I suspect this is the final nail in Romney's coffin unless the administration seriously bodges the relief effort (sorry Luke).

yeah, i'm afraid you're right... they've already started politicizing it (clinton talking about the "storm worse than sandy" that would hit if romney elected, msdnc even making light of romney's spending money on relief items, and everyone blaming global warming)... there are more than enough useful idiots around who buy that type thing to make this problematic... but, to cover their bases, they've also started a narrative about the storm causing lower dem voter turnout, just in case obama loses

[hrothgar]

luke warm, on 2012-October-31, 06:22, said:

msdnc even making light of romney's spending money on relief items

To be clear:

Before Sandy hit, Romney was holding a campaign rally in Ohio. Post Sandy, Romney rebranded this same event as a relief effort and asked people to bring canned food for the poor starving people in New Jersey.

Here's the rub, relief organizations have been very clear that they don't need canned food collections in Ohio.
What they need is cash. Cold, hard, fungible cash. (And Romney's relief rally has made zero effort to provide this)

Personally, I think that they big lesson from Sandy is the difference in FEMA's performance under a democratic administration. This is a perfect example why Republicans can't be trusted to run government agencies.

[luke warm]

hrothgar, on 2012-October-31, 07:24, said:

Personally, I think that they big lesson from Sandy is the difference in FEMA's performance under an incumbent democratic administration the last week before an election.

fify... the fact remains, the dems and their useful idiots are trying to make political hay out of a tragedy

[hrothgar]

luke warm, on 2012-October-31, 08:31, said:

fify... the fact remains, the dems and their useful idiots are trying to make political hay out of a tragedy

Comment 1: The sheer hypocrisy of writing this in a thread titled "BENGHAZI: COVERUP OR INCOMPETANCE?" is mind boggling
Comment 2: So, pointing out that Romney is trying to make political hay out of a tragedy is now defined as making political hay out of a tragedy?

You are so far through the looking glass that it boggles the mind...

[PassedOut]

hrothgar, on 2012-October-31, 07:24, said:

Personally, I think that they big lesson from Sandy is the difference in FEMA's performance under a democratic administration. This is a perfect example why Republicans can't be trusted to run government agencies.

Republican administrations like to appoint agency heads who oppose the missions of the agencies they run. That way they buttress their claims that "the government is the problem."

[PassedOut]

Hurricane Sandy seems to have reminded folks of something Romney hopes they'd forget: Obama leads relief efforts

Quote

On Wednesday, Obama will travel to New Jersey to tour damaged areas with Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a regular critic of the president who heaped praise on him in the aftermath of the storm, saying that “the president has been all over this and he deserves great credit.”

The collaboration between Christie and Obama provided a stark contrast from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when President George W. Bush’s administration and that of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) engaged in a bitter round of finger-pointing over the botched handling of the disaster.

The storm thrust Romney in the almost impossible position of trying to write a role for himself in the story that has gripped the nation’s attention. The GOP nominee held a relief event in Ohio to collect donations for storm victims, but the event had the trappings of a regular campaign rally, with the candidate’s standard theme music and biographical video. As Romney packed emergency supplies, he did not respond to reporters who asked whether he is reconsidering his earlier assertion that disaster management is a job that should be turned over to the states.

Along with the FDA, CDC, EPA, and so on?

[Zelandakh]

hrothgar, on 2012-October-31, 08:59, said:

You are so far through the looking glass that it boggles the mind...

There is a difference between making political hay out of a tragedy and making political hay out of the way a President handled a tragedy.

[ArtK78]

PassedOut, on 2012-October-31, 09:01, said:

Republican administrations like to appoint agency heads who oppose the missions of the agencies they run. That way they buttress their claims that "the government is the problem."

Under Republican administrations, the government is the problem.

[Winstonm]

Mitt Romney is on record stating that he would privatize FEMA. This statement in itself should be enough to negate any claim he may make to leadership, and this idea of turning over emergency management to private enterprise as a profit opportunity should be enough to disqualify Mitt as a human being, as well.

[mike777]

The OTHER DAY THE President told Fema to deregulate.

[Winstonm]

mike777, on 2012-October-31, 17:17, said:

The OTHER DAY THE President told Fema to deregulate.

The President only said that extraordinary events need extraordinary measures of relief - he certainly did not call for blanket deregulation and turning over to private profiteers the ability to earn from misery and misfortune - that is Mitt's special area of expertise.

[PassedOut]

Winstonm, on 2012-October-31, 17:08, said:

Mitt Romney is on record stating that he would privatize FEMA. This statement in itself should be enough to negate any claim he may make to leadership, and this idea of turning over emergency management to private enterprise as a profit opportunity should be enough to disqualify Mitt as a human being, as well.

Things change.

Quote

After ignoring questions earlier this week about his plans for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Mitt Romney said in a statement Wednesday night that he would not eliminate or underfund the agency.

Hmmm. Now why would that be?

[Winstonm]

PassedOut, on 2012-November-01, 07:27, said:

Things change.


Hmmm. Now why would that be?

Perhaps he pulled his head out from his magic underpants?

[Vampyr]

Winstonm, on 2012-November-01, 08:06, said:

Perhaps he pulled his head out from his magic underpants? [emphasis mine]

This is why I do not think that the race is or ever was particularly close. A person may choose Romney in a poll just to express frustration and disappointment at the fact that the President has not accomplished all that he hoped to accomplish. But when it comes down to a person alone in the voting booth, I think that Mormonism is too "out there" for most of the American people.

[blackshoe]

That Romney is a Mormon makes no difference to me at all. But then, I'm not much interested in what religion people follow — I figure that's their business, at least as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs on me.

[mike777]

If Romney wins he may be better able to govern as a flipflopper:
1) He can cut taxes while raising taxes
2) He can move towards a smaller govt while increasing spending(more jobs, lower deficit...see above)
3) He can take more steps towards a single payer health care system while killing ObamaCare.
4) He can take steps against illegal immigration while moving forward on immigration reform.(and going after the hispanic vote)
5) He can fight against gay marriage at the federal level while moving it forward at the state level and improving equal rights at the fed level.(he can claim marriage is not a right)
6) He can takes steps for cleaner air and water while allowing more coal and oil/gas drilling/pipeline permits

It is called compromise or being a politician.


AGain see how the President did indeed tell Fema to move towards deregulation the other day....not towards more regulations....

See how Romney can demand smaller govt, less regulations and then increase spending on disaster relief.....politics....

See he can be Pro life/anti abortion and then somehow increase spending on women's health issues....

See Romney as president be strongly for border control and then go strongly for the hispanic voting block...

[luke warm]

blackshoe, on 2012-November-01, 10:53, said:

That Romney is a Mormon makes no difference to me at all. But then, I'm not much interested in what religion people follow — I figure that's their business, at least as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs on me.

what an adult attitude you have there... you in the right place?

[Vampyr]

blackshoe, on 2012-November-01, 10:53, said:

That Romney is a Mormon makes no difference to me at all. But then, I'm not much interested in what religion people follow — I figure that's their business, at least as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs on me.

Well, Mormon missionaries can be pretty aggressive -- have you ever been pursued by them?